POACHING, PESTICIDES & POLITICS: Protecting the small and the mighty!
Our 2016 Conservation Lecture held on the 23rd November 2016 was hosted by wildlife filmmaker, Alastair Fothergill. Over 450 people filled the auditorium to hear about the challenging work of Kenyan Whitley Award winners, Paula Kahumbu and Dino Martins.
Paula brought home the crisis that elephants are facing in Kenya and the emerging threat to Nairobi National Park. Dino called for a reduction in the use of harmful pesticides and demonstrated how sustainable agriculture can lead to increased biodiversity, yield and income for farmers.
The speakers highlighted the importance of adopting a landscape-level approach to the cross-cutting conservation issues that pollinators and elephants both face, and the need to engage with stakeholders at all levels, from grassroots to political.
WFN Trustee, Sir David Attenborough rounded up the evening by emphasising the role of media in conservation and its importance in engaging the public through stories and drama but also hard-hitting facts about the issues the planet is facing.
We hope those of you who were able to join us left having learnt more about WFN’s mission to support grassroots conservation leaders and were inspired by the talks. The photographs of the evening are available here. If you wish to relive the wonderful moments of the evening, the highlights film and the full film are now available to watch at your convenience.
Silent Auction
In conjunction with the event, WFN held a silent auction which finished at midnight on the 24th of November and raised £13,615 towards the work of our conservationists. There were some beautiful and unique prizes available including wildlife art and photography, a weekend on Kate Humble’s farm, a luxury 1 week safari to Kenya, Christmas & NYE 2017 in Barbados, festival tickets and much more.
Thank you to all of our generous sponsors who supported this event and helped to make the evening a great success!